Are you struggling to gain a solid foothold in the latest installment of the Halo franchise? Breaching the competitive scene is not an easy task and the skill gap is enormous. There is already a lot to consider when approaching the Halo multiplayer sandbox and Halo Infinite introduces new systems and weapons to learn on top of the foundation created by the other Halo titles. Through this guide, I will do my best to provide a solid introduction to techniques and strategies that will assist you in toppling your opponent.
Everyone knows the time to kill in Halo is longer than most games. You need to approach each and every gunfight with a particular mentality. How will I reduce the enemies shield as quickly as possible? What game mechanics will I utilize to my advantage? The Halo sandbox equips you with a variety of options for dismantling an opponents shield.
The Basics
Halo Infinite equips you with 20 unique weapons to assist you in bringing death down upon your opponents. The Halo Infinite armory features weapons from both the UNSC and other factions from within the Halo universe. Fans of the previous Halo games will immediately recognize a number of the weapons with all eyes on the tried and true Battle Rifle. The BR will be arguably, the most important weapon in the arsenal as you will be seeing the most action out of it in ranked play as Halo Infinite’s ranked play does include BR starts.
A BR (Battle Rifle) start is referring to the weaponry you receive whenever you spawn into a ranked match. Depending on the game, this weapon can be different.
The Weapons of Halo Infinite
- VK78 Commando
- Stalker Rifle
- Skewer
- Shock Rifle
- Sentinel Beam
- S7 Sniper
- Ravager
- Pulse Carbine
- Plasma Pistol
- Needler
- Mk50 Sidekick
- Mangler
- MA40 AR
- M41 SPNKr
- Hydra
- Heatwave
- Gravity Hammer
- Energy Sword
- Disruptor
- Cindershot
- CQS48 Bulldog
- BR75
Some weapons carry additional unique attributes that you will need to be aware of to truly excel on the battlefield.
Shielding
There is plenty of talk about the time to kill (TTK) in Halo due to the shield mechanic. So how does the shielding mechanic work in Halo Infinite? (This specific feature does not change a lot from each Halo iteration) You will need to reduce the enemy player’s shield before affecting the player’s actual health. You may be thinking, that is a lot of damage to cover! For which, you are somewhat correctly but there are many weapons and tricks that you can use to quickly reduce the shield of your opponent. Shooting your opponent in the face will not instantly kill them unless you are using a specific weapon, which we will get to later. More often than not, you will not have those specific weapons and will need to find a way to optimize your damage. On the contrary, if you have eliminated your opponents shield and shoot them with either the BR, pistol, or assault rifle, you will instantly kill them. Hitting that final shot to the head is CRUCIAL to winning gunfights.
(insert picture of HUD with health)
Charge up gun – other guns etc
Game Modes
As of today, you will have four game modes to worry about in ranked play.
- Oddball
- Capture the Flag
- Slayer
- Strongholds
Oddball is the most intricate out of the three game modes. Both teams will battle over control of the oddball which is literally, a skull. While holding the ball you cannot shoot your gun but you can melee with the ball. The melee with the oddball is not a one shot kill in Halo Infinite. A game of Oddball is completed when one of the teams manage to win two rounds. Each round is up to 100 which means you will need to hold the ball for 100 seconds to win the round.
You may be asking well, how do I go about actually winning the game then?
The answer is not simple and victory will heavily depend on your team’s ability to adapt to the ongoing round. The beginning of any round incredibly important when playing any kind of arena shooter where there are “power weapons” to pick up.
A power weapon is a weapon that spawns on the map at a certain cadence. Power weapons will normally sway the game in the favor of the team that picked them up. These weapons are very powerful and integral to a team’s success. Your personal AI will announce whenever a power weapon will spawn.
Please pick them up or contest them
There are several different things that you can be doing at the beginning of an Oddball match. Failing to accomplish any of these objectives will result in the enemy team dominating you. Every second counts in an Oddball match. Regaining control of the match is very difficult in of itself. Now the enemy team will have all of the power weapons and power ups, making it very difficult to penetrate their defenses. You have 5 options when you spawn into a match. Which will you do?
- Pick up Oddball
- Focus on slaying enemies
- Pick up power weapons
- Content power weapons
- Gain control of a power position
Ideally, your team will have a healthy balance but that normally does not happen. The beginning of a round is a delicate dance that can be difficult to navigate. Ultimately, you can want the Oddball in your teams possession. To do this, the enemy team must be entirely dead or damaged to a point that your team can hold them back. Many times there is a “stalemate” in the mid area of the map during an Oddball match. Choosing to focus on obtaining extra grenades or a power weapon can make your job much easier. Once you can somewhat safely do it, put up the Oddball and rotate either towards your teammates or where your team is spawning. This may not be easy as the ball is in a vulnerable position. If your team is suddenly at a disadvantage when you have the ball, consider taking the ball to an open area where your team will be able to retake the objective more easily. Let’s consider two scenarios for Oddball on the map Streets.
Scenario 1 – Contest Rockets: Your four team members all spawn without a delay at the top of the street. One member of the team should sprint to the tower (normally the A point on Strongholds) and provide over watch towards the middle of the map. They will focus primarily on killing anyone that attempts to grab the rockets. Use the ledge of the tower to stay alive. The second member of your team should sprint a few feet ahead and stop on the left side of the opening to mid. This positioning will make it more difficult for the enemy team to kill both of them at once. The second player should save at least one grenade to use on the actual Oddball location. Duck in and out of cover at enemies pushing the rockets, your teammate will help from above. Your goal is not to pick up the rockets. If your team performs a team wipe, player two should pick them up. The other two members of the team have the most important job. Player 3 will need to push down the street holding the shotgun as quickly as possible. Toss a grenade to try and damage your opponents a bit while also holding them back as you pick up the shotgun. Use the shotgun to pick off players approaching you or kill the players that are pinned down by player 1 and 2. Player four will spring in a similar fashion but will place themselves on the platform to the right of A tower. There, they will provide support to player three, focusing primarily on watching for a jump up from the actual Oddball location. Depending on the number of players that your team kills, player 2, 3, and 4 should push into the Oddball spawn and pick it up. Don’t have too many people stand near the Oddball or you will be easily killed. Ideally, you would make your way back up the street with the shotgun, back to the A tower. Communication is key in Halo and this strategy is no different. Depending on the number of players fighting player 3 and 4, player two should act accordingly.
Not everyone on your team is a gunner and that is okay. Everyone can see where the power weapons are and can see when they spawn. This gives you an advantage, even if you are a bad player. Say you can’t seem to get to that pesky Spankr in the middle of Streets.
Oddball – as the carrier, move towards allies. Otherwise, go for power weapons, protect oddball, or seek and kill enemy carrier
CTF – CTF is a war of attrition. It will be difficult to steal the enemy flag and return it to your base with each enemy alive. The beginning of the round is a crucial opportunity to gain an upperhand on your opponent.
Geoff W - A Space To Myself 